11.Jan.2012 Unity. What Do We Believe?

“I will build my church and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.” (Matthew 16:18). These are the words of Jesus. Therefore  it’s  not worth trying to criticize or tear down the church. It just means that there are battles to fight in life.

People fought persecution in the Bible. It cannot be avoided. We can try to hide or even swap sides such as is seen in a battle between David and the Philistines. This though only causes confusion.

God will build the church in spite of every thing, even our opinion

So why do we fight unity?

No one apart from God knows another thoroughly, not even in marriage. Therefore at times, opportunities to doubt another are plentiful. To doubt is easy because each of us is filled with imperfection.

Unity means that we are united despite imperfection. Our strengths strengthen another in vulnerable times. Unity doesn’t mean that we default because of another’s faults.

At other times, we’ll want to default from unity to justifies ourselves. Another may be under accusation and so we use his situation to justify our actions. We will say things such as “we knew in our gut” or “I just knew”. We therefore believe the Lord is vindicating us. We build a case against the person to justify our position. Of these situations though, Jesus informs us in Matthew 7:3, to look at our own faults rather than those of another.

Lastly, we fear for our own reputation. What  if I appear a fool by remaining united? What if I’m believing the wrong person?

Our reputation though is to be risked for that of Christ’s. Jesus gave up His reputation and became a servant to others (Philippians 2:7).

God is still building His Churchnno matter what.

We are to align on God’s side. We dont create our own side and expect God to join us. We are to stand for Christ and therefore remain in Him even if it’s uncomfortable.  Standing on His side means that we remain united through the good but also the tough times. Better to take this position than sitting on the sidelines swinging useless punches and causing confusion.

Unity means that we will fight disunity. It means that we believe God and His promises in the Bible rather than succumbing to passing and temporary hearsay.

Don’t  waste time creating chaos. Rather build the church, help others up when they stumble. Stand for Christ and His church.